10 WTF beauty rituals

Bizarre beauty treatments

For centuries, women have been committing acts of medieval torture on themselves just to look, seem, smell or even just feel more beautiful. Here are the 10 biggest OMG WTF beauty rituals you might not know about... (and if you have tried one of them, tell us all about it because we haven't found anyone brave enough to try them yet!)

1

Bird poop facials

Japan

Smearing your visage with nightingale excrement sounds about as fun as, well, getting pooped on by a flock of seagulls.

The aptly named uguisu no fun (Beauty editor's note: "No fun" -- How fitting... ), a Japanese powder made from songbird feces, was used by 18th century geishas and kabuki actors to wipe the heavy white makeup off their faces.

But don't pooh-pooh the doo-doo just yet. Rich in the amino acid guanine, the rarified droppings are said to impart a soft, porcelain-white mien. But it'll cost you. At Shizuka New York Day Spa, for instance, a 50-minute facial will run you $180. We don't suggest you try this at home, since the droppings have to be sterilized to remove toxins and then ground into a fine powder. So back away from Polly and shop online instead.